A silver-white beam of light shot toward him from the horizon like an arrow.
Boom!
The silver-white light arrow struck the ground in front of Leilin, sending countless stones flying in all directions.
When the radiance faded, it revealed the figure of an old man dressed in a silver-white formal coat.
The old man had a hooked nose like an eagle's beak, metal ornaments dangling from his face, and a pair of eyes that burned with a sharp, penetrating light as they fixed themselves unblinkingly on Leilin.
"You're not going to run?"
The old man opened his right hand, and a metallic sphere rose from his palm as though it had always been a part of his body.
The silver-white metal sphere circled the surrounding area once, and the look of surprise on the old man's face deepened further, tinged now with a note of confusion.
"No traps or ambushes either? Have you come here to die?"
"No. I just want to settle a few things!" Leilin smiled without a care. This time he had come primarily to gather data, and his trump cards—Number Two and Number Three—had naturally been left behind.
Though he had never seen this old man before, Leilin recognized him at a glance. He was the Great Elder of the Lilisite Family, and also the grandfather of that apprentice, Bosain, who had died at Leilin's hand.
Back in the small town beside the Margaret Great Canyon, this old man had once controlled a clone that pursued him, and during the battle, the old man's face had materialized over the clone's chest.
"Oh, that's right! It's been so long and I still don't know your name?"
Leilin said with a smile.
The old man gave Leilin a long, penetrating look. "As a strong one, you have earned the right to know my name—Marb Lilisite! Remember it well. It belongs to the man who is about to send you straight to hell!"
The moment he finished speaking, an enormous ring of silver-white light erupted from Marb's body.
Crack! Crack!
Countless metal spikes burst from the ground, rising ceaselessly before coalescing in mid-air, forming a cage shaped like an inverted metal bowl that locked both Leilin and Marb inside.
"Walls of Metallic War!" Marb quickly performed a series of hand gestures.
Having witnessed a portion of Leilin's strength, Marb now treated him as a serious opponent. His first move prioritized cutting off any possibility of escape.
Clang!
A halo of silver-white metallic energy particles radiated outward from Marb's body. Compared to the aura of a half-elementalized wizard, this halo was far larger and more complete—it had already taken on an almost spherical shape, enveloping his entire body.
His spiritual elementalization had reached at least eighty percent. This kind of enhancement, when channeled through wizardry, could amplify the power by nearly double!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
From the surface of the metal cage, light rippled and surged, suddenly releasing countless tiny white barbs. Each barb bore a barbed tip, and their points gleamed with a cold light that made one's heart shudder.
The innumerable barbs shot outward in every direction with a vicious whistling sound, sealing off every possible avenue of retreat for Leilin.
Moreover, faint enchantment glows could be seen on the barbs—they had clearly been augmented with offensive auxiliary spells that boosted sharpness and durability!
This level of attack would turn any newly promoted wizard into a pincushion, no matter how many came.
But Leilin didn't even bother to dodge.
Boom!
Dark flames burst forth from his body.
The flames flowed like liquid, covering his entire form as though clad in a suit of black armor. A tremendous wave of heat swept through the entire cage instantly, and even Marb, standing at a distance, couldn't help but furrow his brow.
Pfft! Pfft!
The silver-white barbs began to flicker and showed signs of melting the moment they approached the flames.
When they finally clashed with Leilin's
Clink! Clatter! Tink!
The sound of pearls striking a basin rang out continuously as the metallic particles hit a dark-red protective membrane behind the flames, producing crisp, almost musical noises before losing all momentum and dropping to the ground, rolling in little circles.
Seeing this, Marb's expression turned grave in an instant—even carrying a hint of wariness.
"You've progressed far faster than I ever imagined! I'm beginning to regret not sending more clones back then to finish you off for good right there…"
Leilin's strength during their previous encounter, when Marb had sent only a clone, had been respectable—roughly comparable to a half-elementalized wizard. If it hadn't been only a clone, and if Leilin's wizardry hadn't been so astonishingly strange and unpredictable, Marb believed that the Leilin of that time might not have survived the pursuit.
But now, the power this young man was displaying was already approaching the pinnacle of the First Level!
What made it even more terrifying was that the time between those two encounters had been less than two or three years. Most First Level wizards had probably not even shed the title of "newly promoted" in that span!
"I absolutely cannot let him live any longer. Otherwise, I will be bringing a powerful and terrifying enemy upon our Lilisite Family…"
A sudden, clear realization dawned in Marb's heart.
With that thought, his killing intent surged even stronger. His eyes transformed in an instant, turning silver-white as though forged from solid silver.
"Liquid Metal!" Marb murmured in a low voice.
Immediately, several intricate and elaborate metal runes lit up across different parts of his body, and a brilliant silver radiance burst forth from beneath his clothing.
A layer of silver-white liquid metal suddenly seeped out through the pores of his skin, covering it in an instant and turning him into a reflective, silver-white humanoid figure of metal.
The liquid metal continued to gather on his right hand, first condensing into a sphere, then stretching and elongating into a spear-shaped weapon.
"This kind of thing?" Leilin's eyes flickered as he suddenly recalled the peculiar magical item "Silver Light" that Bosain had once used—a metallic sphere capable of transforming into various shapes. It had left a deep impression on him.
Unfortunately, to avoid trouble at the time, Leilin had left it behind in the Dilun Garden, and it had been completely destroyed when the secret realm self-destructed.
Now it was clear that that metallic sphere of a magical item had been invented by this very Marb before him.
"Die!"
Marb's entire body transformed into a silver hurricane, hurtling toward Leilin at tremendous speed.
"A melee wizard? How interesting!" A glint of genuine curiosity flickered in Leilin's eyes. Fine black scales emerged across his body. Inborn Wizardry—Comorin Scales—activated!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The black and silver figures crashed violently into each other. The ground was torn open in an instant, and countless snakes, insects, rats, ants, and various other strange creatures in the vicinity fled as though facing an apocalypse, scrambling away as fast as they could to put as much distance between themselves and this place as possible.
The dark-red radiance from the Star-Fall Pendant in Leilin's hand solidified into a Cross Sword, and it clashed repeatedly with Marb's silver-white spear, sending tiny sparks flying through the void.
After several exchanges, Leilin's expression grew solemn.
This Marb's body had clearly undergone extensive modification—his strength and speed were both formidable, and he was proficient in a wide array of killing techniques. Combined with his metallic innate ability, he was essentially a precision killing machine!
Clang! The dark-red Cross Sword and the spear met once more with a crisp ring. A wave of violent wind radiated outward, stripping a layer of branches and weeds from the surrounding area.
Pfft!
At that very moment, a flash of cunning satisfaction gleamed in Marb's eyes.
The tip of the silver-white spear suddenly flashed and softened in an instant, writhing like a snake as it bent and thrust toward Leilin's body.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Leilin flinched, and several black scales flew off his body.
"Combat Deformation Mode!" Seeing that his strike had landed, Marb's expression grew even more frenzied. He let out a thunderous roar.
Immediately, countless spikes sprouted all over his silver-white body, and the weapon in his hand began to transform as well.
Greatsword! Cross Sword! Giant Axe! Iron Hammer!
One after another, all manner of bizarre weapons materialized in his hands, their metallic blades adorned with waves of extremely powerful magical fluctuations—more than enough to penetrate defenses at Leilin's level and inflict devastating damage upon a wizard.
"In close combat, even with the Chip's assistance, I'm at too great a disadvantage!" A contemplative look flashed across Leilin's face.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Countless deep-black tentacles suddenly erupted from the ground, surrounding Marb and entangling him.
At the same time, Leilin retreated swiftly. With a wave of his hand, several black fireballs materialized above his palm.
"Shadow Fireballs!"
The black fireballs merged instantly, growing even larger, and shot toward Marb.
"You think this level of power can touch me? How naive!"
From within the encirclement of shadow tentacles came Marb's voice, dripping with disdain.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Across Marb's body, the silver liquid metal surged and shifted, transforming into countless razor-sharp blades that spun at tremendous speed like the teeth of a gear, generating a fierce, howling wind.
Crack! Crack!
The dark tentacles made only the slightest contact with the spinning blades before breaking apart with a few soft sounds, falling to the ground in severed segments and dissolving into wisps of black gas.
"Hah!" Marb's weapon then transformed into a massive silver-white greatsword.
He gripped the blade with both hands. A ring of metallic energy particles blazed to life around him and poured entirely into the greatsword, wreathing it in a hazy, luminous glow.
"Metal Annihilation!" Marb brought the blade down with devastating force!
Crack! During the downward arc, the tip of the metal greatsword suddenly detached and lunged toward the black fireball.
The silver-white sword tip twisted and contorted in mid-air, ultimately taking on the shape of a white lion's head.
"ROAAAAR!!!"
The silver-white lion head opened its massive jaws and unleashed an earth-shattering roar, charging headlong to meet the incoming Shadow Fireball.
Crack! Crack!
The surrounding world seemed to freeze in that instant—even the air itself had stopped flowing.